I don’t know about you- but as a kid Butterfingers were always the prized item when we traded candy from our stuffed Halloween baskets. With Halloween candy/decorations and more already popping up in all the stores it crossed my mind to work on some allergy free/ refined sugar free candy bar recipes. Considering that I hadn’t had the luxury of enjoying a delicious milk chocolate covered Butterfinger in over 2 years. I figured it was time.
a few notes before we begin.
There are a number of Butterfinger recipes online. The majority of them call for Corn Syrup- that was the first thing that had to go. For allergy and health reasons. I replaced it with a syrup I had in my pantry: Coconut Nectar! I realize this syrup is not yet something that every household keeps on hand. So please feel free to try using Agave Nectar instead. I predict it will work just as well ( maybe even better) . In the future I plan to try using Brown Rice Syrup (If someone tries this- please let me know how they turn out)
Every recipe I saw floating around the Internet instructed to heat the candy mixture somewhere between 300- 310 degrees (F). I tried this.. and as I suspected the directions are WRONG. That temperature range creates candy in the “Hard Crack” range. Hard Crack = Toffee NOT Butterfingers. If I remember correctly butterfingers are supposed to shatter when you bite down into a million little delicious pieces. I tested out my theory- and heated the candy mixture to the Soft Crack temp of 285 Degrees – and it turned out better than I could have ever imagined. The crunch and texture (I think) is spot on. (I hope you will agree!) This lower temp really works in our favor for this recipe as the refined free sugars tend to burn at lower temps than corn syrup.
This recipe calls for Peanut Butter. When I say Peanut Butter I’m talking about the processed – creamy kind. The healthier versions as you may have noticed tend to be really hard and thick. If you buy this type of healthy peanut butter prior to using it in this recipe I would suggest adding maybe a little bit of oil and liquid sugar (such as Coconut Nectar, Agave , Brown Rice Syrup or even Honey) to make it smooth. This will make it easier to stir into the hot candy mixture. Also- I want to note that you do NOT have to use Peanut Butter- Feel free to sub in Almond Butter, Cashew Butter and for the Nut freecrowd- try throwing in some delicious Sunflower Seed Sunbutter! These nut butters can be “creamy” or “crunchy” its up to you.
Make sure to use a heavy bottomed sauce pan. the mixture is going to rise a good three inches and bubble up while it heats- make sure your pan is large and tall enough.. the LAST thing you want to clean up is a bunch of hardened sugar off your stove top.
and finally.. make sure to prepare all of your ingredients and baking pan with parchment before you begin! Towards the end you are going to want to move fast. (Don’t feel overwhelmed- these are easy I promise!)
Butterfingers
1/3 Cup Coconut Syrup or Agave (or Light Corn Syrup)
1/3 Cup Water
1 Cup Granulated Sugar (Organic Cane Sugar or Turbinato or regular white sugar)
1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter (see note above)
1 Cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips (or regular chocolate chips)
1-2 Tsp. Coconut Oil (optional)
Equipment Needed:
12 x 17 Jelly Roll Pan (cookie sheet) covered with a sheet of Parchment Paper.
Candy Thermometer
Large Kitchen Knife + Oil (or non-stick spray) to coat it
- Place a sheet of parchment paper on jelly roll pan. Scoop peanut butter into measuring cup and set it next to stove with a spoon ready to go.
- Into a heavy bottomed non-stick (or cast iron) sauce pan combine the Syrup, Water and Granulated Sugar. Turn heat on medium high- stir until the sugar dissolves. As the sugar mixture heats it will bubble and change composition- stir it occassionally (It should not stick to the pan) place a candy thermometer in and carefully monitor the temp. (Don’t allow the thermometer to touch the pan as this will give you an inaccurate temp. read)
- When the temp. reaches 280- 285 degrees quickly turn off the heat (any hotter and the sugar will burn). QUICKLY stir in the peanut butter. Still moving at a quick pace- poor the mixture onto the prepared pan with parchment. Spread the candy mixture just slightly (it should be about an inch thick)
- Coat the large knife with oil and score the bars into the size that you would like. (Tip: When you score DO NOT drag the knife. Press down and then lift up. Re-oil knife as needed. I like to go back over the score lines several times to make them as deep as possible)
- Allow the butterfinger’s to cool at room temp for 1-2 hours.
- Once cool use a large knife to cut (break) the candy bars apart.
- Melt the Chocolate Chips in a microwave 1-2 minutes (stopping the microwave every so often to stir). If the chocolate is too thick for you to comfortably work with stir in 1-2 Tsp of Coconut Oil. (The more oil you use- the quicker the chocolate will melt in your hand when eating)
- Dip each bar in the chocolate – let the extra chocolate drip off and then place on either a sheet of parchment paper or on a cooling wrack.
- Let the chocolate cool and harden (if you are impatient- stick the bars in your freezer!)
{ 53 comments… read them below or add one }
They sound amazing, Brittany! I was so hoping for a photo. Is that a technical difficulty issue for Real Sustenance, right now? So glad you are back up and running. Now we just need to get your email subscription from long ago back up and running, so I can keep up with you better.
Off to share on Facebook … xo,
Shirley
Still working on getting the photos back
Right now there\’s something funky with my settings not allowing me to insert them into the posts. But I\’ll get there- on the homestretch of having everything back in place! 
Brilliant recipe Brittany! I'm going to link up to it in a post on Monday on Go Dairy Free.
Thanks Alisa! Its an old post that I lost prior to the big server problem! Was excited to be able to find it and repost it!
You’re brilliant! My son was just asking me if I could make him this type of Butterfinger. I said I’d need a recipe and had not seen any that fit all of our needs. That is until now. I will be making some of this soon. Thank you.
This sounds amazing! Funny- I was just thinking that I should try to make my own recipe for homemade butterfingers and I started looking for recipes and guess who was at the top of the list???! Hee hee. They look great.
-Sea
Was I really?? That’s exciting
They are really quite easy- I was surprised. You should definatly work on a variety of your own or make these- I like them better than the ” real” thing.
These are so yummy, but mine do not come out like butterfingers nor look like yours. I even went a bit above 285 and still they are just soft, not crackly at all. Any ideas?
Hmm. I’m not sure. Did you have the tip of your candy thermometer touching the pan? That could send off an inacurate reading. Candy can be a finicky thing!
These are absolutely amazing!! Next time I will stop at 275 they burned a little in the second it took to take them off the burner, but like Brittany said it really didn’t hurt the taste at all. Wonderful!! I’m so excited!
The pot you use and the accuracy of the candy thermometer makes a big difference!
So glad they turned out!!
errr.. you can’t say something doesn’t have refined sugar, and then call for refined sugar in the ingredients. Looks majorly tasty, but I can’t have it. White sugar, brown sugar, and yes, even “organic” unbleached sugar is still refined sugar. Unrefined sugar is maple syrup, agave nectar, etc…. :/
Yes- I’m aware that those are refined! Which is why right next to them I called for the Unrefined Varieties. In my recipes I like to cover all options. Some people aren’t interested in making things unrefined- so I covered both ends of the spectrum.
But…. those things you listed are refined sugar. “Organic Cane Sugar or Turbinato or regular white sugar” are all refined. Might want to look that one up so you’re not misleading people. http://www.becomehealthynow.com/article/carbs/1082/
They are less refined then white sugar and still contain some nutrients. I have researched this extensively.
But I can’t feed this to a diabetic…..any options that are diabetic friendly?
I love your site!! I made some candy bars today and wanted to share them with you thank you for being our inspiration tonight. http://perfectlynaturalfamilysoaps.com/1/post/2011/12/gluten-dairy-processed-sugar-free-candy.html
Wonderful idea. I was trying it, and my cand thermometer broke in the middle, and ended up burning and starting again. The stores were sold out of thermometers, so I chose to wing it. I am wondering, if you filled your entire pan or part of it. The peanutbuter mixture, stiffened up pretty quick. Tasted amazing. Haven’t done the chocolate yet, chilling the peanutbutter mixture. I ordered another candy thermometer, and will try it again soon. Just wondering if the mixture should have been thinner.
Thanks again, I know my boys will love this.
Kathy
This would totally work. Thanks so much! I’ve been dying for butterfingers.
PS- Have you ever tried MARANATHA brand creamy unsalted organic peanut butter? It’s super creamy. It’s what transitioned my family from conventional yucky pbutter. If you put it in the fridge it hardens and tastes exactly like Jiff sans sugar.
No!! It sounds amazing. Will look for it
thank you!!
You say this is sugar free but it uses sugar. Bad!
Actually- I say the recipe is “refined sugar free” which is 100% accurate. I give non-refined sugar suggestions for those looking for those options as well who are not concerned with eating refined sugar free. . Its a free recipe.. Please take your complaining elsewhere.
You’ve done it! My childhood candy dreams are a reality! THANK YOU! Now to find a proper replacement for that pesky sugar… *think, think, think*
I made these tonight! I used corn syrup and used brown sugar since I’m out of regular sugar. I let the temperate reach around 250 degrees F because it started producing a burnt-like smell. And when that happens, I know to act fast! I mixed the peanut butter in fairly quickly and scooped it onto a cookie sheet lined with the paper. I couldn’t resist tasting it! The texture had already began forming. I’ve always wondered how butterfingers got their texture. After letting it cool completely, skipping the chocolate, the texture is just right. My sis says it really does taste like the popular butterfinger. I think so too! From what I can remember. I had no idea it was such a simple recipe. Thanks a bunch. I’ll be making this again soon.
omygosh I am so happy I found you blog on pinterest! I love your recipes! And I especially love this one
Butterfingers have always been my favorite candy but I really need to watch how much dairy I have, I can’t wait to try these!
I’m curious if Xylitol would work in place of the sugar. I used to make candy (before I had to change my diet for health reasons), so I know there are reactions to heating that sugar has that other things don’t. Is this one of those recipes Xylitol will not work in?
I’m not very confident that it will work.. Buy hey you can always try!
Unfortunately, those listed in the “sugar” options are, in fact, refined sugars
It sounds like a great recipe, and might work with coconut sugar, if you want something even less refined, though many people who react to sugars will still react to coconut sugar. You may be able to get by with adding a sweetener like Lucuma powder, but then again, if it’s the sugar making it crack like a true Butterfinger, that probably won’t work. No way to know unless you try it though! The finished product looks delicious, and it might be worth it to partake of a little organic sugar for Halloween, versus the alternatives (not eating candy at all, or eating the crap in the stores.)
Making these for my husbands work bake sell they are having for the Quality of Life Program. How many does this make? Or did I just completely overlook it?
Yum! I will be using sucanat to replace the refined sugar. Any idea if you can use something other than coconut syrup since I don’t have any on hand?
This sounds amazing – I’m always a bit imtimidated by candy making, but am going to try this over the weekend! Oh – and what’s with all the comments about you putting refined sugar in the ingredients? I clearly see that you have alternate ingredients listed that contain un-refined options. Oh well. Always a critic around when you don’t need one!
Some people miss the point that I try to provide lots of options so anyone could make the recipe no matter what ingredients they like to buy.
I’ll never be able to please everyone! I’m used to that at this point
I know I am late on this but there is a product on the market (I order it online) called Swerve. It comes in granulated and powdered and you use it at a 1:1 ratio for sugar. If a recipe calls for 1Tbs sugar, you use 1Tbs swerve. Try it you will love it!!
I live in Europe and cannot locate “Swerve”…I really want to start using this as I do not particularly like the taste of stevia….I know that the main ingredient of Swerve is erythritol…and noticed that a product called “”Truvia” and another …”Provia”?…list erythritol as primary ingredients…Would these work?…Thanks so much for any enlightenment!…I loved Butterfingers whilst young…but have to watch insulin-spiking ingredients now.
Thank you so much for this awesome recipe! Since I’ve had to go gluten free/dairy free, I knew Halloween would be rough for me. Not being able to eat my favorite candy! But I was super excited to find your recipe and also that you’ve done your research and compared different recipes. I think the soft crack stage for this was perfect. I have a bunch hardening in the freezer and now I’m stocked for a good while with Butterfingers! Wooo hoo!
Hey Brittany, these look AMAZING!!!!! I have a question-any chance I can use honey instead of coconut or agave necter? I’ve used it in the past in place of corn syrup, but I’m not sure if it would act the same in this recipe…?
YOU HAVE JUST MADE MY LIFE COMPLETE! LOL I had to go gluten free and was happy to find out regular butterfingers are gluten free but recently found out I can’t tolerate corn syrup or other high fructose syrups. I wonder if pure maple syrup could work?? I can’t have agave or honey and coconut syrup is iffy as well as hard to find.
This recipe looks wonderful! However, I hate chocolate. Do you think I could sub vegan peanut butter chips for the chocolate chips to make it absolutely perfect?
Tried these out for the holidays. Didn’t work for me but I’d be willing to try again. I think I would go back to the original hard crack temperature because mine turned more into a semi-hard nougat, not the shatter I was hoping for. Or I stirred too long, it pretty much turned into a lump within seconds. Fun to try it out though! (I did use coconut syrup.) Maybe I’ll stick to divinity and buttercrunch for my candies.
Did you use a thermometer? Thats essential.. if you did and they didn’t work then you probably need a new one as they seem to go bad easily. (Ive had to replace mine several times)
I made this last night using maple syrup as the liquid sweetener and granulated maple sugar as the other sugar source. It worked great. I warmed the peanutbutter first so it was more smooth and it was definitely easier to stir into the syrup mixture once it had reached 285. Granted, it does have a wee maple-y flavor, but that’s not necessarily bad.
This looks so yum can’t wait to try it!
Just like to point out to the ‘refined’ sugar nazis that if you’re so concerned about it then maybe you shouldn’t be trying to find ways to make sweets super healthy! There’s sugar in it for a reason and its a candy recipe for a reason. Use the sugar then go for a run or eat organic for the next week to make up for it. I have ridiculous allergies and intolerances and refuse to whinge as there is almost always a way around- if not then its not meant to be and we move on, it’s not worth it. It’s food, there are bigger problems in the world.
A great recipe with so many options provided is a rare gem and I certainly appreciate and will be tweaking all the necessary things to fit me! Thanks
I love the recipes I find via R.S. and I am never one to complain if a recipe has ingredients I can’t have – I either experiement and tweak it so I can have it or I do without, no biggie, but your comment is a bit ignorant to those of us who can’t have refined sugar for health reasons. I am a diabetic, I can’t just eat something and then go work out or eat organic for a week to make up for it. I can still enjoy candy and often look into and promote recipes that use sweeteners I can have. I appreciate the recipes that Brittany comes up with and I share them all the time but I can also understand why some people might be a little let down if they see the title and then aren’t able to have these because they contain something the title says they don’t.
These do look delicious and I’m going to play with some other sweetener options to see if I can make them sugar free. Thank you Brittany!
I made these or tried to make these this morning, but everytime the mixture would get passed 225 degrees, it would threaten to boil over, but I added the peanut butter anyways and ended up with peanut butter caramels. Still delicious, but it was also my first time making candy. Thank you for the suggestions and recipe. Will try again next week after I buy more peanut butter!
I just made these. They taste great, but they didn’t come out good looking. As soon as I mixed in the peanut butter, the whole thing solidified before I could get it spread out. So I just cut it into random size chuncks and dipped them in chocolate. I saw an earlier comment where someone said they warmed the peanut butter. I think that sounds like a good idea. Maybe I’ll try it again. Thanks!
You are correct, Lila!
Any recipe you read has been developed from hours of testing & tasting.
The ingredients listed is why the recipe works to achieve a successful end product.
Nice Job, Brittany!
THHHHAAANNNKK YYOOOUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!
Hi Brittany,
I’m new to your blog and recipes, but I can’t wait to try this one! My little one has a peanut allergy, so I’m super excited that he can still enjoy one of my favorite candies, too.
Thank you so much for all you do to find tasty alternative and even healthier recipes for people who want to eat better!!
I may be asking a question that’s already been addressed….sorry, if I am. However, Where do you find coconut syrup?? I’ve never, ever seen that one and I don’t want to use agave or light corn syrup.
Love, love, love all your awesome recipes. Thanks for all your hard work!
friend of mine with corn allergies informed me these are NOT corn free, enjoy chocolate chips have corn in them……
Actually you can purchase corn free chocolate chips. And I’m sure people with corn allergies would know this.
JACKPOT! Holy cow these are awesome! I bought organic light corn syrup at Whole Foods and used Trade Joe’s chunky natural peanut butter. I heated to 270 then removed from the electric burner to add the peanut butter. My bench scraper scored the bars perfectly. WOW – thanks!! My VERY first candy making attempt and I’m rather impressed I must say. Thank you, Brittany! KIM
This was interesting… First I used a large saucepan. This was not a good idea becuase it wasn’t enough depth to put the thermometer in without touching the bottom. I had to tilt the pot to get it. So at 270 I took it out and got ready to add the peanut butter since i was holding it. As soon as I added it it got so thick, I ran it right to the prepared pan and it couldn’t even be spread. It was getting crumbly when I tried to so I gave up. Could have easily fit in a 8×8 pan. Even if I had been able to spread it there isn’t a lot of it, so to get 1 in thick it wouldn’t take up even half the pan, I hope it tastes ok!
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